and they all lived Happily Ever After
by Koharu Veddette
Summary: With her True Love away, Belle finds herself running his shop and helping the residents of Storybrooke in ways she never thought possible. It is only fair that, when she gets her own surprise, that they help her in return. My take on what Season 3 will be like. This is all from Belle's point of view in the town while the leaders are away.
1. Chapter 1

Belle couldn't believe her eyes when she finally made her way back to town after saying goodbye to Rumple at the docks. The town was nearly completely covered in thick green vines and had cracks through the streets from where the forest had been trying to reclaim it. She hadn't really gotten to see how the fail safe had effected the town when Rumple had pulled her out of the back of his shops and to the docks.

"Lacey!" Someone called out to her and she turned hesitantly, shame filling her as she remembered her horrible cursed self in this world. A man she recognized from the bar she used to frequent came running up to her with an angry expression clear on his face. "Where's Gold? He's got a lot of explaining to do for this mess."

"This wasn't his fault," Belle defended her True Love, her eyes narrowing at the man because of his accusation of Gold just because he was the Dark One.

"Since when did you stick up for the bastard?" the man asked in mild surprise at her words. "Even you admitted he was just a rich guy who didn't care about the rest of us."

"Don't talk about him like that," Belle snapped at the man. The man grabbed her shoulders and gave her a hard shake.

"What kind of spell did he cast on you?" the man asked angrily as he shook her. "This is Rumpelstiltskin we are talking about, Lacey, not Prince James."

"Stop it," Belle cried out, struggling against the man's hold on her.

"Belle?" Ruby called when she saw her fellow brunette in trouble. Ruby growled in a very wolfish fashion as she bounded down the steps of Granny's shop to rush across the street. The man released Belled at the sigh of the angered werewolf, knowing Ruby had her wolf powers back. Ruby stopped beside Belle as the man ran off, the wolf turning to the princess worriedly. "Are you okay Belle? Sorry, you like to be called Lacey, right?"

"N-No, it is Belle," Belle replied shakily as she tried to steady herself after what had just happened. "I got my memories back."

"That's great," Ruby smiled, truly happy for the brunette before she nervously stepped away from her. "Where's Gold?"

"This isn't his fault," Belle immediately defended her True Love.

"I wasn't saying that," Ruby said defensively, throwing up her hands as she frowned at the other young woman's annoyed look. "Snow and Charming already explained the fail safe issue to the dwarves and me."

"Then can you help me?" Belle asked, knowing that if the royal couple trusted her then Ruby could be trusted with what Rumple wanted her to do. "Can you get the dwarves and meet me at Gold's shop in a bit?"

"Sure, but what for?" Ruby asked, suspicious of why the brunette needed their help. "Can't Gold help you?"

"H-He just left with Hook and Regina," Belle informed the wolf sadly before she held up his small scroll of instructions. "But he left me a way to protect the town from people who want to destroy magic."

Ruby looked at her for only a moment longer before she nodded. "Alright, I'll see you at Gold's in a few minutes."

Belled smiled gratefully at Ruby as the werewolf quickly headed off to collect the seven close knit brothers. In the meantime, Belled headed for Rumple's shop to make sure it was alright. The small building looked as if nothing had happened to it until she tried to enter it. Belled frowned as the door refused to budge. It was as if some invisible force was on the other side of the door and was keeping it from being opened. Belle stepped back from the shop to look up for any sign of what she should do. She knew Rumple hadn't locked the shop when they had left so there was no way the shop could be locked unless someone else was in there.

"I was kinda expecting to meet inside," Ruby laughed as she and the seven dwarves hurried up to her. The laughter died on Ruby's face when she saw Belle's expression. "What's wrong?"

"The shop is locked when it shouldn't be," Belle replied, biting her lip thoughtfully. For a moment she wondered if Rumple had seen this coming. Looking at the eight people who had so readily come to her aide, she knew she couldn't risk getting them hurt by whoever or whatever had closed up the shop. "You guys wait here while I check this out."

Belle stepped forward once more to try and enter the shop, but was stopped by Ruby's hand on her arm. "A woman in your condition should not be stepping up to an unknown danger."

"What do you mean?" Belled asked in confusion as she turned back to look the worried wolf in the eyes. "What condition? I'm fine now that I have my memories back."

"Magic can't see everything," Ruby murmured as a look of realization crossed her face. This worried Belled greatly. What had Rumple's magic been unable to detect when it had shown him so much in the past? Ruby seemed a bit uncomfortable as she glanced back at the dwarves for a moment before she turned back to Belle. "I don't really know how to say it, but, Belle, you smell pregnant."

"I smell... pregnant?" Belle repeated in disbelief, raising an eyebrow at the werewolf.

"I don't know how to describe it other than that," Ruby said sheepishly before the look on her face grew serious. "But I do know that Snow had the same kind of scent when she was pregnant with Emma."

"Th-This can wait," Belle said, turning back to the shop. She just couldn't be pregnant, so she would focus on what she knew was true and right now that was her getting into the shop so she could protect the town. "We have to get in there."

"Gold didn't leave anything in those instructions of his?" Leroy asked testily, not liking the idea of them walking into the unknown when it came to magic. Belle looked down at the scroll that was still tightly rolled up in her hand. With a small sigh, she opened it slowly. She frowned when she saw one single word on the small page.

"Abraten," she read aloud softly. The word seemed to start shining a strange red color before it disappeared from the page and the door to the shop swung open forcefully. Belled turned to the shop in surprise, but frowned when the shop suddenly felt different to her. The shop had always felt odd to her, even when she was Lacey, but nothing had seemed to call out to her like it did now. She slowly stepped across the threshold and looked around for what was calling her.

"Belle?" Ruby called to her as she hesitantly followed the beauty with the dwarves waiting by the door. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," Belle said as she stopped at one of the shelves and picked up a small lantern. She gasped when her mind suddenly filled with information about the lantern. Everything filled her thoughts, from its name and use to how Rumple had come to possess it. Belle blinked and turned back to the others' fearful looks with a smile, holding up the lantern. "This is how we are going to protect the town."

"A broken lantern?" Walter asked skeptically as he looked at the small, beat up piece of metal.

"This isn't just any lantern," Belle said excitedly as she placed in on the counter to show them. "This is the Light of Sleepy Hollow."

"The Light of Sleepy Hollow?" Leroy repeated, looking at Belle like she was insane. "How is that going to help?"

"Simple," Belle said as she picked it up and headed out of the shop with them following her. "If we set it up at the entrance to town and keep it lit, it'll hide our town from anyone who comes near. It's how the people of Sleepy Hollow dealt with a demon that had been terrorizing them."

"How do you know that?" Ruby asked as she and the dwarves walked fast to keep up with Belle's surprisingly fast pace.

"I think Rum-, Gold, might have cast some kind of spell on me," Belle admitted as she hurried to the town's edge. After all the time she had spent with Rumpelstiltskin, she knew what magic felt like thought it had never been used on her before. "I think he made it so I would be able to find the things I needed to protect the town without needing to be taught. There is one issue though."

"What's that?" Ruby asked as Belle stopped to turn to them at the last building on the edge of town.

"This had to stay lit for it to work," Belle admitted as she held up the lantern. "The charm only works if the candle is lit. Once it goes out, we are open to outsiders once again, but we can't constantly keep watching it."

"Maybe I can be of some help," someone said, drawing their attention to Mother Superior as she stood not too far away from them. The fairy drew her wand from her cloak as she crossed the street to them. She looked very seriously at Belle as she raised her shimmering wand and lit the candle with a small flame. "I do not agree with Gold on many things, but I do agree with your wish to protect our town."

"Thank you, Blue Fairy," Belle said breathlessly as she looked at the small flame, knowing that the fairy's magic would keep it lit no matter what. "Now we can protect everyone."

"No, thank yo, Belle," Mother Superior said with a small smile as she headed back towards the town and left the group to their task. Belle watched the older woman leave for a moment before she turned to continue their trek out to the edge of town where the memory line was.

"No one move to close," Leroy said, spotting the bright orange line he had marked on the ground when the dwarves were trying to figure a way out. "We can't afford memory loss now."

"We'll be fine," Belle said with more confidence than she felt. She remembered clearly the last time she was here and the memory made her nervous as she stepped forward with the lantern. She glanced around the town line for a sturdy place to put the lantern. Seeing nothing more than the town's sign, she frowned. She couldn't just leave the one thing protecting their town out in the open.

"Let's put it in that tree," Ruby said, pointing to a low hanging branch near the town's sign. Belle looked at it for a moment before she nodded, seeing no other option but to put the lantern there for safe keeping. The dwarves quickly lifted her and Ruby up so they could put the lantern higher up in the tree, letting it hang down slightly over the town sign. Once the job was complete, the group stepped back to admire their work before they decided to head back into town.

**Just wanted to post this before the new season comes out in two weeks and ruins what I have planned because then this won't be canon. Ah, yeah, so lot's more to come and I hope you liked it. See you next Friday for the next update!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you NJSoleil for being the first to review! **

The sight before the group when they reached the town was an amazing one to say the least. Now that their new barrier was up, it was like the fail safe had never happened and the town was back to normal. People were walking around in amazement as they looked at the fixed street and buildings, clearly happy to see their town back to normal.

"Well, Belle, we did it," Ruby said, grinning at the other brunette as they walked through the pristine town and greeted the people they passed. "Now the town is safe thanks to you."

"I couldn't have done it with your help," Belle said modestly, also smiling as she looked around the town.

"That may be true, but you know that all magic comes with a price," Ruby said, her face turning serious all of a sudden which made Belle extremely nervous. They had just done a large amount of magic to protect their town, so what kind of price would they all have to pay in exchange? Ruby then grinned at her once more, clearly just trying to scare her slightly so Belle relaxed a bit. "And I know just the price you have to pay to keep this town safe with those new powers you seem to have."

Belle looked at her in confusion as Ruby took her hand and led her and the dwarves back to Rumpelstiltskin's shop. Belle was even more confused by Ruby's action as the female werewolf stopped in front of the shop.

"I think your price is to run the shop and help out all of us in the place of Gold," Ruby explained with an excited smile. "I think your kindness will be a great change of pace for everyone who normally has to deal with Gold. And it's also a great way to support you and that baby of yours."

"I'm not pregnant," Belle immediately said, giving a nervous laugh at everything Ruby had just said. It was true that her only optioned seemed to be running either the shop or the library, but she didn't want to think that it could possibly be true that she was pregnant even if all signs had pointed to it so far even before the wolf had picked up on her new scent. "I'll run the shop for Rumple, but I'm telling you that I'm not pregnant."

"Tell me that in nine months and then I'll listen," Ruby rolled her eyes at Belle's stubbornness, now seeing how she had managed to put up with Rumpelstiltskin for so long. "Just go see Doc once you're settled into the shop and let him make the final call."

Belle looked at the dwarf as he smiled back at her. Belle frowned, unsure of what to do since he was a close friend of Ruby's and could easily lie to her about this. She didn't know the dwarf, so how was she to know if she could trust him to confirm or deny their suspicions without an ulterior motive to prove Ruby right?

"I wouldn't lie about something so precious as a new life," Doc said calmly, reading her nervousness like her face was a book. "It would go against everything I stand for as a doctor."

"Then I will come see you," Belle said slowly, still unsure if she really trusted the doctor just yet. "But only once I'm sure I can run the shop on my own. I haven't been able to be myself for so long that I would like to get adjusted to everything before then."

"Just call me when you want to come in," Doc reassured her as his brothers began to take their leave. He gave her his card before he followed after the other dwarves to go make sure everyone else was okay.

"Would you like some help?" Ruby asked Belle as they turned back to the shop.

"No thank you," Belle said politely as she opened the door to her new home. She smiled slightly at Ruby, though the werewolf could tell it was a bit strained. "I would like to be by myself for a little while after everything that has happened today, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, sorry," Ruby apologized sheepishly, just realizing how forceful she was being with Belle when she hardly knew the woman. "I'll see you later then? Come by Granny's for dinner if you feel up to it."

"Thank you, I think I will," Belle said with a genuine smile before she slipped into the shop and closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it so she could be alone among the various items that reminded her of her True Love. She sighed as she leaned against the door, her hand resting on her stomach. "Oh Rumple, why was I so stupid while I was cursed?"

She hadn't wanted to admit anything in front of the others, but she had to admit it to herself that she was quite loose while she was Lacey so it was no wonder she was pregnant now. It seemed that that was her price to pay for her memories to come back, but, oh, what a price this is to pay for being cursed against her will.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Belle turned to look around the shop with a bit of unease. She recognized many of the items from Rumpelstiltskin's castle and knew the general idea of what it all was, but she couldn't be too sure since she had no idea how her new found powers were to work. She decided that opening the shop would have to wait until she figured out her powers. Until then, she was going to comb through all of the books she could find in the shop to see what kind of spell her True Love had cast on her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you Blueberrysuite7 for reviewing! I'm so glad you like it, it's been so much fun to speculate and write for so far.**

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! I update just about every week, so long as I'm near my computer and nothing goes wrong with it.**

**Thank you A.P. Reich for reviewing! Now I'm not going to ruin that little tid bit this soon. **

Several days passed at ease within the town as everyone settled back into their new found safety. While most people were out and about, Belle locked herself away in the shop and poured herself into the shelves of books in hopes to find some kind of clue to what had happened to her. Her only interruption came from Ruby, who popped in with breakfast and lunch everyday and had soon become a welcome guest in the closed shop.

"Hey Belle," Ruby called one afternoon while Belle was skimming through yet another book out of the stack on the counter in front of her. Belle looked up to see the red clad werewolf looking at her nervously.

"What's wrong, Red?" Belle asked, frowning as she marked her place in her book and put it down on top of the stack of books she had yet to read. Ruby looked at her with a frown before she glanced out the shop front and then back to Belle.

"I need some help," Ruby admitted in a hushed tone and Belle motioned for her to continue. "You see, there's this guy who's been coming around Granny's a lot lately and he keeps trying to talk to me about my life in the Enchanted Forest. He's really staring to freak me out."

"Red, what if he's just interested in you?" Belle asked soothingly, trying to see where the harm is in getting know someone's not cursed self. "From what I've gathered, we all know each other cursed selves quite well, but not our Enchanted selves. What's the harm of getting to know him?"

"That's the thing, Belle, I do know him," Ruby said quietly, fidgeting with her cloak. "He doesn't know me because we've only ever met when I was all wolfy, but I know him. He was one of the Queen's huntsmen that were sent to kill me."

"And you're worried that he will still try to kill you if he finds out who you are," Belle surmised, receiving a nod from the brunette in front of her. "How are you to know he won't try to kill you? Regina isn't here right now and she doesn't have the same following she once did now that people see that she will put everyone in harms way to get what she wants."

"I don't know," Ruby admitted sadly. "But I can't risk getting myself killed."

"I might have something for you then," Belle murmured, feeling something call out to her from no where. She glanced around to try and pinpoint what was calling out to her as she stood from the stool she had been sitting in. She crossed the room and pulled out a fine mirror made of silver from one of the cabinets. She turned back to Ruby with a small frown. "This mirror will let you hear anyone's thoughts. I don't know how you will get him to think about your wolf form, but this will let you read his thoughts once he does."

"Wow," Ruby murmured as she took the mirror from Belle and held it delicately. "Where did you get this?"

"Gold got it and it's sister mirror, one that will show you where anyone is at any time, from some witch who needed a magic rose for a spell," Belle said offhandedly, with a motion towards the cabinet where a matching mirror perched.

"You really do know a lot about these items," Ruby remarked, smiling slightly at Belle.

"I know some of the things from my time as Rumple's servant, but most of the information comes from that spell he cast on me," Belle said sadly as she looked around the shop.

"Still no luck with finding out what it is?" Ruby asked, looking to Belle worriedly. Belle shook her head and sighed.

"It only activates when I am in need of an item to help me or someone else," she told Ruby as she glanced around the shop. "If I'm not in need of an item, everything is quiet."

"That's really odd," Ruby said as she also glanced around the room before she spotted the large clock on one wall. "I have to get back to Granny's, but thanks for this and I hope you find the spell."

Ruby left the store before Belle could say anything and she felt a sudden pain in her chest. She clutched at her chest and winced in pain just as her head began to pound. Her eyes began to water and she wondered what was happening to her before she suddenly saw the mirror she had just given Ruby sitting before her. She picked it up with shaky hands and felt the searing pain coursing through her slowly begin to fade away. Belle frowned at the mirror before she put it down and decided to renew her search for what was happening to her.

"Belle! I'm so sorry, but the mirror is gone!" Ruby said frantically as Belle entered the empty cafe that night like she always did for dinner. Ruby paused in her attempt at apologizing at the sight of the mirror tucked gently in Belle's arm. "Where did you find it?"

"It came back to the shop shortly after you left," Belle explained, deciding to keep the painful return a secret from her new friend. "I'm thinking that the things I give people need to be paid for in order for them not to come back to me."

Ruby smiled at her sheepishly as Belle sat down at the bar where a iced tea already sat waiting for her.

"Sorry about that," Ruby said just as Granny came around from the kitchen with a hamburger plate ready for Belle. "What do you want in return?"

"I'm not sure yet," Belle said, thinking as she sipped at her tea and frowned at her burger. "It has to be something equal or one of us will pay the rest another way."

"Are you talking about a spell to help my Red?" Granny asked, looking at Belle and then at Ruby. Ruby nodded and motioned to the mirror with a brief explanation as to how it was going to help her. "Why don't you have free dinner for as long as Ruby here has the mirror?"

"I couldn't possibly accept that," Belle said in embarrassment, knowing her appetite was steadily growing as the days went by.

"Nonsense," Granny said, smiling at Belle as she looked at the young shop owner from over her glasses. "If it keeps that hunter out of our hair and keeps you and your baby doing well, it's a fair enough price to pay."

Belle smiled softly at Granny's words, before she frowned and looked at the older woman curiously since only Ruby and the dwarves were supposed to know about her possible pregnancy. Granny merely tapped her nose with a knowing smile before she turned to go back to the kitchen to clean it up.

"So, what do you say Belle? Deal?" Ruby said, extending her hand out to shake with a broad smile. Belle couldn't help but to smile in return as she shook Ruby's hand.

"Deal," she said and felt a twinge of pain at the back of her head for a brief moment. "If this is how Rumple feels with each deal, it's a wonder why he keeps making them."

Ruby looked at her curiously and Belle blushed, realizing that she had spoken out loud. Belle motioned to her head with a small shrug.

"It's just a small headache," she said, trying to brush off the stabbing pain that she had momentarily felt like it was nothing. Ruby slowly nodded at her before going back to what she had been doing before serving Belle dinner. Belle frowned, glancing at the mirror and thinking of how she had to be careful with each of the deals she was to make if she was going to keep going with this.

**As you can see, I'm updating a day earlier than normal. That is because I'm moving into my dorm on Saturday so tomorrow will be a busy day for me, which means I would probably not update. I'd rather update early than late at this point. Hopefully everything will return to normal and I can continue updating on Fridays once I settle into school once again. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you jewel415 for reviewing! Your review made me so happy! I don't normally get complements on my writing style, so thank you so much for telling me what you think.**

**Thank you Drac1026 for reviewing! Sorry to say, but I'm not going to give away anything just so soon. You'll find out who the baby belongs to in a few chapters, that much I can guarantee. **

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Truth be told, I almost forgot it was Friday because of my classes and things going on.**

**Thank you InkyTheHalfling for reviewing! With so many people asking about the baby, I want to reveal everything soon, but I know the suspense and flow of the story requires me to hold out for a while longer before I can give anyone a definite answer on anything to do with the baby.**

"Miss Belle," Doc greeted her cheerfully on the day that she had decided to finally go in and lay all of this baby nonsense to rest. She had spent the last few days searching, but couldn't find anything on the spell in any of the books in the shop or in the small magic section in the library that she still had the key to. She had decided to give up for now and promised herself to question Rumple the next time she saw him about what he did to her. So, for now, she was going to deal with this baby issue and go from there. "Here for your pregnancy test?"

Belle nodded apprehensively, reading herself for the test and results to come. If she wasn't pregnant, great, that's one less thing to worry about. If she was, well, she didn't want to think about the trouble she would be in raising a child on her own. It didn't take long to do the test or for Doc to come back with the results of her blood work.

"Well everything seems to be in order," Doc said, examining the results and causing Belle to sigh in relief. Doc then smiled at her in a way that made her nerves come right back. "Congratulations on your baby, Miss Belle."

Belle's heart sank at the news. She knew that her baby was something created by her and her True Love and that was a precious thing since so few people got to be with their True Loves and have a family to call their own, but, without Rumple there with her, she wasn't so sure that she could really raise their child. A thought then occurred to her that made her heart sink even further. What if her time as Lacey caused this child to not be Rumple's but some other man's? It was not private knowledge that Lacey had bounced from one guy to another just about every week until Rumple had come around and snagged her interest.

"I'll schedule your next appointment for next week," Doc said, scribbling on her file and breaking her train of thought before it went spiraling out of control. He then paused and looked at her with sad eyes. "What kind of appointment would you like?"

"Wh-What do you mean?" Belle asked, suddenly frantic at whatever it was that he was trying to ask. Doc sighed softly before he looked at her meaningfully.

"Would you like an appointment for a check up," Doc said, pausing slightly like he didn't want to continue the question. "Or would you like one to get rid of the baby?"

Belle stared at him, dumbfounded by the question he just asked her. Was she worried about her baby? Yes. Was she not expecting to have one? Oh god, yes. But did she want to get rid of it, to kill it? No, not at all, and she was sure her True Love would be devastated that she got rid of their child without even talking to him about it. She wasn't going to put him through she pain of losing another child, especially without being able to get this one back.

"Ch-Check up," she managed to answer through her suddenly nonexistent breathing. Doc smiled at her and made one last scribble on the file.

"One week from today, if that's alright with you?" he said as he helped her stand from the chair she had been sitting high up on. Belle suddenly felt like being extra cautious with everything she did. If she was going to protect this baby so it's father could see it, then she was going to do it wholeheartedly.

"That will be fine with me," she said quietly, her hand resting on her stomach subconsciously. Doc smiled at her and waved good bye as she left the small clinic he worked from. Instead of returning to her shop, she went to Granny's so she could let Ruby know the news. The two may have never spoken before the curse or even during it because of Regina, but they were quickly becoming friends now and Ruby had every right to know the results.

"Hey Belle," Ruby called as she served up a customer at the other side of the cafe when Belle walked in. Belle smiled slightly at the call, knowing Ruby liked to go off people's scents more than the sight of them. It was easy to fake how you looked, but Ruby swore that you had to be hard pressed to be able to change your scent even with magic. "You're a bit early for lunch, but, if you wait a bit, we'll start serving it up soon."

"Thanks," Belle said as she sat down at the counter, waiting patiently for Ruby to come over to her with a glass of tea. "I'd like to talk to you and Granny when you are free, if that's okay."

"Yeah, let me go see if she has anything on and we can go back to the kitchen to talk," Ruby said, disappearing to the back to check on her grandmother. Belle waited for Ruby to come back around, glancing around the nearly empty diner curiously. She wasn't used to coming in during their daylight hours, so seeing the tiny shop was very different for her now that she was sitting in her regular spot about ten hours earlier than normal. She stood when Ruby peaked back out from the kitchens and motioned for her with a smile. Belle quickly made her way around the counter and to the kitchen to a waiting Ruby and Granny. "Well? What did Doc say?"

"Red, manners," Granny snapped at her granddaughter before smiling at Belle. "Doc told you we were correct, did he not?"

"H-He did," Belle answered softly, fidgeting slightly. She was unsure of how to talk about all of this and she was even less sure about what she was going to do now that she really was going to have a child.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Granny asked in a hushed tone, placing a sympathetic hand on Belle's arm. Belle looked at the kind older woman and nodded silently, unable to trust her own voice at that moment. "All first time mothers are, dear. Don't worry so much, though. Red and I will help you with anything that you need."

"Thank you," Belle said, smiling gratefully at the elder woman as she felt a small weight lift from her shoulders. "I don't know how I could ever repay you for your kindness."

"It's no trouble at all," Granny laughed lightly, a small smile forming on her lips. "From what I hear from Red, you are planning on running Gold's shop while he's away."

"Yes, I do," Belle informed her with a look of confusion. "But what has that to do with my child?"

"That is a shop full of magic, girl," Granny said in a warning tone. "You have to protect that baby from the harm that magic can cause it."

"She's already been reading through all of the books in the shop Granny," Red rolled her eyes at her grandmother. "She knows what magic can do. She is the Dark One's True Love for heaven's sake!"

"Just be careful, dear," Granny said before motioning them out of the kitchen so they could get back to work. Belle said good bye to Red after a quick lunch so she could head back to the shop and start preparing for her new life.

**I'm so happy to see so many people liking this story. I was actually kinda worried the idea would flop once I posted it, but it's good to see that so many are following it and giving me feedback about what they are thinking. Reviews keep me going, guys, the more you send in, the more I want to write this.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Thanks for the encouragement.**

**Thank you Drac1026 for reviewing! I should hope people will want to keep reading.**

**Thank you InkyTheHalfing for reviewing! I always thought Belle would make a good sisterly figure for Ruby.**

**Sorry this chapter is so short everyone! I've been busy with college work and couldn't get more done!**

It was a few days later that Belle found herself with her first real customer. She had just been finishing up one of the many books she still had yet to read about magic and was just about to take a break to rest her eyes after the tiny print when the door chimed to let her know that someone had entered the shop. She paused at the sound, checking the time to see that Ruby shouldn't have been coming for lunch for about another hour, before she realized it was a customer and hurried to the front only to see Mother Superior standing in the middle of the shop.

"Blue Fairy," Belle greeted in surprise, drawing the woman's attention from looking around the cluttered shop. Belle was sure that the fairy didn't approve of all of the magical artifacts being in the possession of the Dark One, or, in this case, the Dark One's True Love. Belle held her stomach protectively, unsure of the fairy's intentions even after she helped protect the town. "What can I do for you?"

"The fairies and I have been discussing your child, Belle, since it has come to our knowledge that you will be having one after all," Mother Superior said calmly, smiling slightly at the young woman which made Belle nervous. "And we wish to bestow on it a gift once it is born. You see, it will be the first child to be born among us since the curse was lifted and we got our memories back, so it is a very special child to the town. Dark One's or not."

"That is very nice of you fairies, but I couldn't possibly accept a gift from you," Belle said with a tight voice at the small stab the fairy let slip, receiving a mildly confused look from Mother Superior. "I don't think the shop will let me take a gift from anyone, especially a magical gift, unless I pay for it in some way."

"Then I would ask of a small favor in return," Mother Superior said as she glanced around the shop as if she didn't wish to discuss the matter at hand. "To be truthful, the fairies are quickly running out of our dust and there doesn't seem to be any more diamonds in the mine for us to gather more from."

Belle heard a small voice coming from somewhere in the shop, letting her know that she had just the thing to help the fairies.

"So, to make this clear, in exchange for helping the fairies get more dust, my child will receive a gift from the fairies?" Belle said as she made her way towards where the magical voice was calling out to her.

"That is correct and seems like a fair enough deal for both of us," Mother Superior said, watching Belle closely as she shifted through a drawer in one of the cabinets. Belle turned back to the fairy with a large, purplish bean in her hand. "What is that?"

"A magic bean, but not one like the ones used to go between worlds," Belle said, holding out the bean to Mother Superior. "This one, if planted in the mine, will grant your wish to have the diamonds form at a much quicker rate than before. It is, in a way, a wishing bean."

Mother Superior took the bean from Belle to examine it herself before she frowned at Belle. "You seem to be turning more and more into your True Love. Be careful with that, Belle, for the Dark One's power is not meant for someone to fair as you."

Belle watched Mother Superior leave with a confused look on her face.

"What is so wrong with acting a bit more like your father?" Belle asked her stomach as if expecting a response from her growing child.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you InkyTheHalfling for reviewing! You'll see soon enough what kind of gift.**

**Thank you Queen of Light 17 for reviewing! Thanks for the positivity. **

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! I don't think things with the Blue Fairy and Rumpelstiltskin will ever be good.**

**Thank you Helena Menezes for reviewing! Thank you for following this! It seems everyone is waiting to know who the father is.**

Word soon spread through town that Belle was not only pregnant, but running the magic shop at a much fairer rate than Gold was. Soon, she had seen just about everyone in town for one reason or another as she made her day to day life. Six months after the scare of the fail safe, no one had yet heard from their leaders and Belle was growing worried for them. She now constantly checked the small pocket watch that Rumple had given her before he had left with specific instructions to always carry it with her just in case. She had no idea what it was for and her spell didn't even have any knowledge about the simple watch.

"Belle! I brought lunch!" Ruby called to her from the front of the shop, dragging the woman from her thoughts about her True Love. Belle heaved herself from a chair as her large belly weighed her down. Ruby came around to the back of the shop right as Belle was beginning her slow waddle to meet her. "Really girl, I wouldn't be surprised if you had twins in there no matter what Doc says."

"I hope not. We've only been preparing for one," Belle laughed softly, smiling at her friend as the taller woman came over and helped her walk more steadily. Belle paused when she saw that the front of her shop now held a beautifully carved bassinet and seven dwarves. "What is this?"

"You hadn't picked out anything for the kid to sleep in," Leroy explained, smiling slightly at Belle. "So Geppetto carved this up for it out of a tree in the forest."

"It's wonderful," Belle murmured, walking to it so she could run her hand over the smooth carved flowers and vines in the wood. "He must have been working on this for months."

"Ever since it was confirmed," Doc told her with the other dwarves nodding. "We went out to get the tree ourselves."

"Thank you everyone," Belle said tearfully as she hugged each of her new friends in turn. "It's perfect."

"Hey, this kid is special," Leroy shrugged, embarrassed like the other dwarves by the hugs they received. "It's the least we could do after all the help you've given the town, Belle."

"I've never seen this shop so empty," Ruby added, looking around the partially cleared out shop. Belle had been incredibly busy ever since people found out that her prices for help were so much fairer than Rumple's were, so the shop had temporarily lost many of its treasures to people who needed help of the magical sort.

Belle frowned when a strange buzzing sound filled the air. She turned to Ruby to ask what it was only to see that the wolf didn't seem to hear it. Finding this strange since Ruby easily had the best hearing in town, Belle glanced around for any sign of something being out of place. This buzzing was nothing like the times she had been offered gifts from people without equal payment in return, so she couldn't quite place what it could be. That is, she couldn't place it until her pocket began to grow hot like she had been set on fire or a hot coal had been dropped into her skirt. She hesitantly reached into her pocket to pull out the only item that was resting in it.

"What's that?" Ruby asked when she noticed Belle staring at her pocket watch with a strange expression.

"I'm not quite sure, but I believe some kind of spell is activating," Belle murmured, examining the watch closely for any sign of something being different now that the temperature of the metal began to return to normal. The lid of the watch then popped open to reveal that the face of the clock was pitch black and no longer seemed to tell time.

"Belle?" Rumpelstiltskin's voice came from the watch as his image soon appeared on the clock. He looked tired, but unharmed as he sat by the light of a fire. Belle couldn't help but give a tearful smile at the sight of her True Love.

"Rumple," she murmured, nearly falling to the ground as her knees gave out if it wasn't for the quickly supporting arm of Ruby. "Oh Rumple, where are you?"

"We are still in Neverland, but we've managed to find Henry," Rumple reported with a small sigh as he tried to relax against the log he was leaning on. "We hope to bring him home tomorrow so we can be back after only a few days."

"But Gold, you guys have been gone for almost seven months, not a few days," Ruby said, voicing what her friend didn't seem to be able to. Rumpelstiltskin looked surprised by her words and they could hear someone cursing within the camp their leaders had made. Ruby took the watch from Belle so she could talk to the man. "You guys have missed a lot going on around here."

"What's happened Red?" Snow asked, though Ruby could not see her. Ruby thought about what to say for a moment before she began her report.

"We managed to get the town protected thanks to whatever spell Gold put on Belle so she could work with the shop," Ruby said slowly so they would get everything that she was saying since she didn't know how faulty the communication system was. "Nothing much has happened other than that, except Belle has become one hell of a shop keeper. Even with her being pregnant and all."

Ruby would have paid hundreds of times to be able to see the look on Gold's face at her words. There was a strange mix of joy, shock, and fury at her words, but most of all just plane shock.

"There must be some kind of mistake," he managed to say in what could only be described as a growl. "My True Love must not be so true afterall."

"How could you say that?" David nearly yelled at Gold on the other end of the watch, something Ruby was grateful for since she couldn't personally strangle the man for accusing Belle of cheating on him.

"Because we have been gone for seven months, dearie, that means that child cannot be mine," Gold countered the prince with a glare.

"She was pregnant the day you left, you bastard," Ruby growled at Gold, seeing his old Rumpelstiltskin persona coming out in him as he tried to shield himself emotionally from him. "She hasn't done anything wrong, so get off your high horse and be happy you're having a kid with such a great girl."

"Doc said I only have a few weeks left before I'm full term," Belle murmured sadly, having not expected her True Love to react like he was to the news of them having a child together. She took the watch back from Ruby after giving the wolf a grateful smile. "Rumple, I'm 33 weeks along and you've only been gone for 27. This child has to be yours if you think about how long we were together before you left."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Gold asked, his eyes narrowed like he still didn't believe her, but Belle was able to see the softer expression hidden within his eyes.

"I don't know," Belle admitted sheepishly. "I didn't want to know anything until you returned so we could find out together."

Gold looked stunned at her selfless words, a small smile creeping onto his lips as the picture shook before he seemed to move away from the fire. Taking that as him wanting to speak to her alone, Belle motioned for the others to leave with a reassuring smile.

"How is the spell working for you?" Gold asked quietly once they were both alone.

"I think I've figured everything out about it now," Belle said, smiling at him as she glanced around the shop. "You could have told me about it before though. It would have saved me a lot of pain and confusion."

"I'm sorry, dearie, but it had to be done and I had just made it as a safety measure when I decided to give your memories back," Gold explained with a small sigh, a sign to Belle that he really did mean his apology. Belle couldn't help but to smile at the softer side of her True Love that was coming out now that they were alone until a sharp pain in her abdomen made her gasp. "What's wrong Belle?"

"I think they know you're their father," Belle managed breathlessly, rubbing the spot over where her baby had just kicked. "This little one is waking up and kicking mercilessly whenever you talk."

Gold frowned at her words before a small smile graced his lips. "May I see?"

Belle couldn't help a small laugh as she set down the watch and took a few steps back from it so he could see her swollen stomach.

"Beautiful," she heard Gold murmur as she stepped back to the watch, rolling her eyes as she scooped it up from where she had left it. "Are you sure it is just one?"

"Doc can't find another heartbeat no matter how much he searches," Belle told him as she rubbed her stomach over the small kicks her baby was giving. "The baby is just exceptionally large."

"Baelfire was also quite large," Rumpelstiltskin said as he remembered his first wife's pregnancy before a sad look came to his face. "Has there been any sign of him?"

"I'm so sorry," Belle answered sadly, knowing just how much pain her True Love must have been feeling knowing that his son was out there somewhere and possibly dead. "He'll come back to us when he can."

"There is no guarantee of that," Rumple snapped at her and Belle bit her lip, knowing she hit a nerve and that the only reason he snapped at her was to protect his own feelings.

"He has to. He has a son who needs him, a True Love waiting for him, a father who misses him terribly, and a new sibling to meet," Belle said soothingly, seeing her own True Love's lips twitch at her words.

"Your optimism astounds me," he chuckled softly before the image began to blur. "The spell is wearing off. I will contact you again when I can."

"Don't make it another six months!" Belle called to him as the picture went dark, hearing the echo of his chuckle as the spell completely faded. Belle sighed, rubbing her stomach a bit as she put the watch back in her pocket. "Let's make sure everything is ready for your father when he comes home."


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you Helena Menezes for reviewing! Yeah, the clock kinda just came to me when I was planning everything out. **

**Thank you Guest for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it.**

**Thank you InkyTheHalfling for reviewing! I'm glad to know I'm writing it well enough that people have doubts about the father. Knowing who the father is kinda made it hard to write as if no one knew. That is an interesting theory you have, you'll just have to read this chapter to find out since everything is revealed in this one.**

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Things will get a lot more cheerful from here on out until near the end, I promise.**

Belle knew no pain like the pain of giving birth. She had seen pain, had seen torture, had been mentally tortured for years, but nothing she had ever experienced would quite hold a candle to giving birth.

It was a strangely warm day for the middle of winter, so everyone had been out and about and that included the soon to be mother as she and the dwarves finished up the last of the list of needed supplies before the baby arrived. She had wished that Ruby could have come with her instead of working at the diner, but Granny hadn't been feeling well, so she was the only one who could run the whole place. The dwarves were helpful and all and they didn't mind her asking their opinions on even the girliest of items, but they were still men and shopping for a baby seemed so much more like something you should do with your best girl friend or your husband. It was while she was shopping that she had felt the first wave of pain shoot through her system, immediately calling out for Doc from the aisle over. The dwares were surprisingly quick to reach her side and help carrying her none too gently to Doc's office before the contractions really started to hit. Doc shooed his brothers out of the room she had been placed in, ordering them to go fetch Ruby and Granny instead of milling around the office.

Several excruciating hours later, Belle couldn't help but smile and allow tears of joy to stream down her face to replace the ones from pain as she was handed a little bundle of crying baby. The little girl quieted down the moment she was placed in Belle's arms and chose to stare up at her with large brown eyes. Belle felt a small pang of surprise to see that the little girl looked almost exactly like Rumpelstiltskin, or, at least, his form here in this world. If her True Love had any doubt about their daughter's parentage, her looks would make them all go away with how much she resembled him.

"Do you have a name for her?" Ruby asked quietly from her bedside, having filled in the typical husband role for the mother while her husband was away.

"Not yet," Belle murmured, not looking away from her daughter as she studied the cute child. "I was thinking that I would give her a name for this world, but leave her true name for when Rumple gets home."

"Kinda like giving her her own cursed name," Ruby said thoughtfully, grinning. "I think that's a great idea. That way we all have something to call her, but Gold can still participate in naming her."

"Exactly," Belle nodded, thankful that her best friend understood where she was coming from. "What do you say, Iris? Will you wait for your true name until your father comes home?"

The baby girl only yawned at her mother's words, blinking as she slowly fell asleep.

"We should all get some rest," Doc said from the door, drawing Belle's attention away from her sleeping child. "We've had a long day and tomorrow you will be moving the young one home, so you will want to be well rested."

"I'll make sure she sleeps, Doc," Ruby reassured him as she stood to take Iris from her mother. Belle looked a tad stricken to see her child go into the other woman's arms, but knew her body was tired and had only stayed functional this long so she could hold her child for the first time. "Don't worry, Belle. I'm not taking this little miss anywhere."

Belle nodded slowly as she settled back into her bed and quickly fell asleep after such a long day.

* * *

Belle was quite surprised with just how many people came to visit her and Iris once she was cleared to start working at the shop again.

As promised, the fairies had come to grant the new child a gift of vast knowledge so that she may be a bright young lady. It wasn't for a few days that Belle found the small, glowing wand that had been slipped deep into Iris' crib that was clearly meant for the little girl. Belle wasn't sure if she should be happy that the fairies were trying to help the girl with the obvious magic she was to have or if she should be upset that they were trying to expose her to magic so early on in her life.

The dwarves made sure to come by the day after the new family had settled into their new routine, each bearing a small gift of intricately carved toys for the little girl. Each one had received a warm welcome from baby Iris since she had been awake when they had come and they were some of the first people she had gotten to meet. Iris was so happy when the dwarves visited that they had come again the day after and that was when Belle realized that her daughter had taken on an attachment to Leroy and seemed to start crying whenever he stopped holding her or playing with her.

Unlike with the dwarves, Belle was not at all surprised to see just how quickly Iris took a liking to Ruby. The young woman was quite skilled with caring for the newborn whenever Belle had a customer to handle and Belle was quite thankful for the help. She was so thankful, in fact, that she had suggested to Ruby that she become Iris' godmother. Ruby had been ecstatic at the idea and immediately accepted the role with a large kiss to the baby's forehead.

Granny was a very welcomed addition to Iris' life, especially since she seemed to be the only one in town that could answer any of Belle's questions about how to raise her child. Iris seemed to like her as well, but not so much as Ruby or Leroy. When Belle tried to apologize for her daughter preferring to be in Ruby's arms than Granny's, Granny just laughed it off as Iris liking the kindest hearts.

It was during one of those visits in which it seemed everyone had come to see Iris at the same time that Iris did her first bit of magic. Granny, Ruby, and the dwarves were sitting around Belle's small living room with Ruby, Leroy, and Iris on the pristine floor playing with some of Iris's toys as Belle tried to bring in enough tea for all of her guests.

"Iris, let's get you ready for a nap," Belle said, turning from placing the tea tray down to scoop up her daughter. Iris let out a loud wail at being taken away from her godparents and began crying as Belle tried to carry the squirming child from the room. "I'm so sorry everyone."

"It's alright dear," Granny waved off the apology as she fixed herself some of the tea. "The girl knows what she wants and that's a good characteristic to have in a young woman."

"She isn't a young woman yet, Granny," Belle said, chuckled slightly as she tried to settle the still squirming and crying girl into her arms. "And she won't be for many years."

Belle almost let out a cry of shock when she felt that her arms had nothing in them except for Iris' blanket. She looked around frantically before spotting the little girl on her stomach by her toys once more. All of the adults in the room seemed to be frozen where they were as the little girl happily played and made noises.

"Did she just-?" Ruby couldn't seem to finish her question as Belle slowly strode forward to pick up her daughter once more.

"She did," Belle confirmed, looking at the baby worriedly. "She shouldn't be doing magic so young. She doesn't even know the consequences of doing magic."

"Maybe there isn't a price for kids doing magic?" one of the dwarves suggested nervously.

"Magic always has a price," Belle said firmly, vowing to talk to Mother Superior about this and to see if Rumple could help whenever he next called her. "We have to keep her from doing magic at all costs."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you Grace5231973 for reviewing! Rumple is the type of man that can't see happiness for himself even if it's right in his face, so of course he can't believe that the child is his. Yeah, I was just trying to play things up a bit for everything to be a bit more dramatic in the beginning.**

**Thank you cynicsquest for reviewing! Thank you very much for your complements. The idea just came to me while I was on a road trip and had worried that others wouldn't like it.**

**Thank you NinaGold for reviewing! I wish I had time, but I hardly have time to update nowadays since college is picking up and I'm finding myself becoming more and more forgetful when it comes to writing.**

**Thank you Helena Menezes for reviewing! What did you mean?**

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! There isn't much for them to do in a town essentially walled off from others. There's a few time skips throughout the story, but mostly it'll take place in two ages from now on. **

**Thank you Queen of Light for reviewing!**

It was surprisingly easy to keep Iris from doing magic, especially since she was normally such a calm child that didn't want for much. Belle had decided to limit everyone's visits to when Iris was either wide awake or fast asleep, not in between like before so Iris would have a reason to throw another fit and use magic. This routine started to work out fine and Iris didn't use magic again until a year later.

Belle had decided to take her out with her while she did her annual check on the lantern that was protecting their town from outside harm. It was a needless act, she knew, but she couldn't help but to go out and make sure everyone was safe from the outside world. They had only been protected for two years under this spell and it wasn't looking like it was going to fail any time soon. At least, Belle hoped it wouldn't for the sake of her daughter who was the most magical person in the town aside from the fairies.

Iris had recently learned the joy of being able to run around on her own without the need of someone helping her take a step, so Belle had allowed her to walk and play in the street so long as she promised not to get too close to the line that marked where the barrier should be. Of course, Iris being her child, Belle should have known that she would be too curious about the barrier for her own good. Belle heard her squeal as she was putting up the lantern once more and couldn't tell if the little girl's squeal was out of delight or out of fear. Belle whipped around to see Iris leaning on an invisible barrier, hitting it with her small fists.

"Iris, get away from there," Belle called, hastening her movements in replacing the lantern so she could hurry to her daughter's side.

"Mama! Boo!" Iris called, still hitting the barrier. Belle was confused by her daughter's words, but not in a way one would normally think. Belle knew quite well that 'boo' to Iris was actually the word 'boy,' but Belle couldn't figure out how Iris could see a boy through the magic barrier. "Bi boo!"

"A big boy?" Belle repeated, scooping up her daughter protectively. Iris sniffled as she reached out to the barrier once more, clearly wanting whoever was on the other side.

"Bi bo boo!" Iris yelled at her mother, squirming to try and free herself from the woman's grasp.

"What kind of big boy?" Belle asked her daughter, fighting the little girl's squirms so she wouldn't let go.

"Bo! Bo! Loy si bo!" Iris screamed at her mother, turning red in the face as she used up all of her oxygen to scream what she wanted to say at her mother. Belle's mind worked frantically at trying to understand the girl's words so she would calm down and not use magic again, but it was hard to understand any of it when the back of her mind made a note that Iris had never been this worked up about anything before.

Belle gasped when the barrier seemed to ripple and a entryway formed just big enough to reveal the person who was standing on the other side of it and looking around thoughtfully.

"Neil!" Belle called in surprise, catching the man's attention. Neil saw his step mother and smiled slightly, quickly making his way through the barrier before the entry could close.

"I've been out there for five days and you just now come and get me?" Neil said, mock reprimanding her before spotting the squirming girl in her arms. "Who's this?"

"Neil, uh, Baelfire," Belle said a bit nervously, unsure of how to address him while telling him such big news. "This is your sister, Iris."

To say that Neil looked stunned was an understatement. If someone had suggested to him that his centuries old father would have another child, Neil would have laughed in their face at the impossibility, but looking at the young girl was enough to squash that idea in Neil's head before it even formed all of the way. This girl looked so unbelievably much like their father, that it was a bit scary to Neil. It was like looking at an exact female replica of the man he once hated.

Neil reached out for the girl, marveling in the fact that she existed just like he had marveled at the sight of his own son. He smiled slightly when the girl, Iris his mind corrected, reached out for him as well. Belle hesitantly let Neil take Iris into his arms and her existence suddenly felt very real to Neil now that he was holding her.

"Bo!" Iris squealed happily as she hugged Neil, confusing both adults. "Bo mine!"

Belle was absolutely perplexed by her daughter's sentence. Iris had never before said something was her's, she was actually a very good child when it came to sharing what things were actually hers with people.

"Yeah, I'm your brother," Neil said, having somehow completely understood what the little girl had said to him. This only made Iris squeal again and latch onto his shirt tighter. Neil glanced at Belle with a small smile. "Let's go back to Dad's so we can talk about everything that's happened to all of us."

"I think that would be a good idea," Belle said slowly before turning to lead him back into town, wondering what in the world was going on.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! There's a few time skips in here, but nothing too drastic really. **

**Thank you Queen of Light 17 for reviewing! I couldn't leave Neil out of this. This is supposed to be a Happily Ever After story for Rumpelstiltskin after all. **

**Thank you Grace5231973 for reviewing! I thought so too. She's such a fun kid to write about.**

"I can't believe you ended up back in the Enchanted Forest," Belle said as she and Neil sat across from each other at the small table in the shop with Iris sitting comfortably in her brother's lap, having not left the man's grasp since meeting him. Neil had just finished describing in minor detail his travels through the Enchanted Forest in attempt to find his way back to Emma and his father.

"Princess Aurora and Mulan were a great help to me," Neil said with a sigh as he slowly rocked his sister. "I'm just surprised that I've been gone for so long. It's only felt like a few months, not years."

"Your father said the same thing when we told him he had been gone for so long," Belle said, smiling fondly at the memory of her last conversation with her True Love. "Apparently each of the realms have their own time that is separate from each other."

"So you've been in contact with him then?" Neil asked, clearing his throat sheepishly as if he didn't want to show too much concern for his father. "I didn't think they would have been able to contact you after you said they went to Neverland."

"Rumple found a way as always," Belle said, pulling out her pocket watch just as Iris began to cry. Belle moved to stand so she could deal with whatever it was making her daughter upset, but was waved off by Neil as he stood with his baby sister in his arms.

"I missed getting to do all of this baby stuff with Henry, so let me help with my sister," he said before scooping up the bag by the table so he could go change her at a more stable place. Belle couldn't help the small smile on her face as she watched her stepson calm down his sister as he left the room.

"Good evening dearie," Rumple's voice filled the room, making Belle jump and look around only to see that the watch had activated so she could see him sitting against a tree at what looked to be early morning.

"Oh Rumple!" Belle cried, picking up the watch from the counter so she could see him better. Rumpelstiltskin chuckled at her ecstatic reaction to seeing him. "I'm so happy to see you."

"How long have I been gone this time?" he asked, noticing the subtle changes in his True Love's appearance that could only be explained by a long time apart. She seemed slightly older and the subtle glow of pregnancy had faded from her features, leaving her looking even more breathtakingly beautiful to him than ever before.

"You've been gone for just over two years," Belle answered softly, how much she had missed him hitting her now that she could see and talk to him. Small tears sprang to her eyes as she gazed lovingly at her him. "Oh, Rumple, our daughter is beautiful."

"Daughter?" Gold repeated in disbelief, his eyes lighting up in a way Belle had only ever seen when he talked about Baelfire. His eyes seemed to excitedly skim the area he could make out through his own watch before he frowned slightly. "Where is she?"

Belle glanced towards where Neil had taken his sister before darting back to him with a small smile. "She's with her older brother."

Gold seemed frozen at her words as if it was taking him an extra long time to process what Belle had just said. A dark look crossed his features that confused Belle, especially when he looked away from her crestfallen.

"Sh-She's gone then," Rumple deduced in a sad tone that nearly broke Belle's heart when she realized that he believed that their daughter had died.

"No, not at all," Belle replied quickly, receiving a confused look from him as her smile grew. "Baelfire made his way home just today and is in the other room changing Iris."

Belle would have paid again and again to see the stunned look on Rumpelstiltskin's face at the news. Slowly, a soft smile grew on his face as he fully processed the words his True Love spoke.

"So Bael is safe," Gold seemed to sigh before he glanced towards the side. "That is good news, Belle, but I must go now. The others are waking and we should be going to get Henry once they all are up."

"I understand," Belle nodded, looking at Rumpelstiltskin like she was trying to memorize his features. "Please stay safe and come home to your family."

Gold paused to look at Belle with a warm expression. "I will. Good bye Belle."

The watch shut off just as Neil was coming back with a happy looking Iris. "What was that?"

"Your father managed to contact me," Belle told him, smiling up at him as she set down the watch so she could reach for her baby. Neil looked stunned for a moment and Belle couldn't help but to see the similarities between him and his father. "He says he should be home soon with Henry and Emma."

"Th-That's great," Neil said breathlessly as if he wasn't sure how exactly to feel about that. On one hand he would be getting his son and love of his life back, but on the other he would have to deal with his father. Belle placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Everything will work out for our family," Belle comforted him softly, receiving a small smile from him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you Queen of Light 17 for reviewing! It'll be a while until the whole family's together again.**

**Thank you Grace5231973 for reviewing! Bae and Iris are going to make great siblings if I have any say in it, which I do, so they will.**

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Belle wouldn't really lose it like break down in tears or anything, but I'm sure the pressure would eventually get to her. Nnn, I guess I can give into fanservice just this once.**

Belle was pleasantly surprised with how helpful her stepson was with Iris and the shop. The man never failed to entertain his sister or take care of a customer whenever Belle was busy. The people around town had been surprised to see him back when he first made his presence known to everyone, but soon welcomed him with open arms once more. Many were hesitant at first since he was the Dark One's son, but Belle quickly squashed all negative thoughts of Neil by telling them that Neil hated magic and only used it when in desperate need, unlike his father that used it whenever possible. After he had settled in, he told Belle a bit more about his time in the Enchanted Forest with Aurora and Mulan and just how he had managed to find another magic bean to come home with after visiting his father's castle and finding the clues the older man had left behind using blood magic. It had been a difficult task as far as Belle could gather from the bits and pieces of his journey that he actually told her about and the few new scars she saw on him.

Belle was glad to have him back though, since he was just a bit more of her True Love beside her to give her hope that he would return to them someday even as more years passed by. Day after day, Belle hoped for some kind of sign that her family would come home, even hiding it from Iris as the little girl grew older and more perceptive about her surroundings. Belle couldn't help but feel a bit sad whenever she saw her daughter act like Rumpelstiltskin even though the little girl had never met her father.

"Mama, can I learn to fight?" Iris asked one day when Belle was brushing out the now six year old's long hair before braiding it. Belle was startled at the question and wasn't quite sure how to answer it. "Bael fights a lot, so can I learn?"

Belle paused to think about the sword fighting that Baelfire often did in their back yard whenever they took breaks from the shop. He said that they never knew when they would need to fight again and he would rather keep up with the skills Mulan had taught him than have to relearn if something happened. She couldn't see why something would happen when they had their barrier, but she left him be since he seemed to enjoy it and it distracted him from negative thoughts about their family.

"Maybe when you're a little older," Belle finally answered the girl that was still staring at her through the mirror. "Your brother would hurt you if you tried to learn now."

"Bael would not," Iris pouted, crossing her arms over her tiny chest. Belle frowned at the action, having rarely seen Iris want something so much that she would actually pout when she couldn't have it. "He's good at fighting."

"I'll talk to him about it, but I'm not saying yes until I know for sure you won't get hurt," Belle told her in a stern voice. Iris got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment before she nodded her understanding. "We'll talk to Bael about it at lunch, but only if you behave like a good girl until then."

"May I go to Miss Ruby's then?" Iris requested hopefully. Belle frowned at her daughter, wondering why she was being so exceptionally greedy today.

"I don't see why not, but you better not get in her's or Granny's way like you did last time," Belle warned the little girl. "If you cause trouble again, you can kiss your chances of Bael teaching you good bye."

"I'll be good," Iris promised. Belle allowed her daughter to run over to the cafe shortly after they finished breakfast, having told the girl that she would be over there for lunch.

"Hey, Be-Mom," Neil said as he entered the shop as she was checking on everything as busy work since she already knew that everything was perfectly fine and in the exact places she had left them due to her connection with the shop. Belle smiled slightly towards him, chuckling softly at his slip up. It had taken Neil a few years to get used to the idea that Belle was his father's True Love, but he gradually grew to be like her own son even if he was technically older than her. She still found it amusing how he would slip up when he tried to call her since he wasn't too sure how he felt about her even now.

"Bael," Belle greeted and paused in her work as he set down his things behind the counter. He turned to her and immediately frowned when he saw the worried look on her face.

"Did something happen with Iris?" Neil asked, worried about his little sister since he didn't see or hear her anywhere.

"Oh no, she's with Ruby," Belle said, waving off his concern with a small laugh. "But, well, I guess something did happen."

"What's up?" Neil asked, his brows furrowing in confusion as he tried to make sense of his stepmother's words.

"She wants you to teacher her how to sword fight," Belle said quickly, unsure of how to approach the topic with him. Neil seemed to think over the request for a moment before he shrugged.

"Sure, I don't see why I can't," he said, smiling slightly at his stepmother.

"Are you sure she won't just get hurt? She is a bit young," Belle said worriedly, not wanting her precious daughter to get hurt. "I know you would never mean to hurt her, but I'm not completely sure she won't cause a situation where she will get hurt."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Neil promised, placing a comforting hand on the smaller woman's shoulder. "I learned how to sword fight from the Lost Boys and Mulan, teaching my little sister how to fight shouldn't be too hard after that."

Belle's lips twitched into a smile as she looked up at him. In many ways she saw his father in him and saw just how her True Love could love him and be proud of him so much. Neil was like the perfect son that any parent could love.

"Just protect the last bits of your father I have," Belle said softly, feeling the weight of not having her True Love around for the last few years. Every day she prayed that he would find his way home, but every day she found that he wasn't there to greet her. At this point, the only thing keeping her going without her love was their daughter and the bits of him she saw in his children.

"He'll come back, Belle," Neil said, picking up on the brunette's sadness and giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He and Emma aren't the type to just leave people waiting. They'll come home and we'll be a family again."

"When will that be though?" Belle whispered sadly, sniffling when she heard the door chime to let them know someone had come into the shop. Belle composed herself before she headed to check on whoever had come in, relieved that she had Neil at her side to help her since he too was missing his True Love like her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you Helena Menezes for reviewing! Belle is very strong and I wish we got to see what was going on with her in Storybrooke in the show.**

**Thank you Queen of Light 17 for reviewing! Yeah, this story is all about family, so it's important that they stick together. That is kinda the meaning behind OUaT I think. Family and love can concur everything.**

**Thank you Grace5231973 for reviewing! To me, Iris is like the perfect blend of Rumple and Belle. She's got a lot of her mother's book smarts and kindness, but also a lot of her father's rash behavior and power.**

**Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Maybe one day they can meet.**

"Oof!" Iris grunted as she landed on the ground once more. The little girl was covered in dirt and looked a little worse for wear after several hours of sword training with her older brother. Neil looked hardly phased at all as he stood a small distance away from her with a stick lightly held in his hand. Iris picked up her own stick as she stood before she brushed herself off and gave him a look that almost sent shivers down his spine. She looked too similar to their father sometimes and it only reminded Neil of the possibility that he may never see his father, son, or True Love again. Neil looked away from Iris' intense look, letting his sister take advantage of the opening. Iris rushed forward with her stick sword raised, crying out as she ran to attack him. Neil was swift with his own stick, landing a blow into her unprotected stomach as he side stepped her.

"I'll never learn anything if you keep hitting me!" Iris snapped at him, pouting as she rubbed her stomach and glared at her brother.

"No, you won't learn anything if I don't hit you," Neil said as he spun the stick in his hand and gave her a pointed look. "You're the one that wanted to learn Iris. We can always stop now if you don't like my methods of doing things."

"No," Iris squeaked, going wide eyed as she clutched her sword tightly against her chest. "Mama barely let me do this! I don't want to stop!"

"Then prepare yourself," Neil said as he raised his stick sword once more. Iris nodded and raised her sword only to have Neil rush forward to attack her. Iris closed her eyes and raised her sword fearfully, having never had her big brother attack her head on before. Iris opened her eyes went she heard her brother grunt and land on the ground. Neil was panting and winced as he tried to sit up.

"Big bwother!" Iris cried as she rushed forward to her brother's side. Neil smiled weakly as he patted her on the head.

"I'm alright," he grunted as he struggled to sit up. "Just didn't think your magic would have been this strong."

"Magic?" Iris repeated, confused by his words.

"That's right. Mom doesn't want you knowing about magic," Neil mumbled as he stretched his arm to help the injury along. "But we are children of the Dark One, so we have to know about magic, you know."

"Dark One?" Iris frowned, having heard the name whispered around her before but having never actually known what that was. Neil sighed as he looked around for any sign of Belle before he turned to his little sister.

"Alright kiddo, it's time someone tells you about our father," he said in a hushed tone as he gave her a serious look. "But this has to be a secret from Mom, okay?"

Iris nodded eagerly, wanting to know everything about everything her brother knew. Neil glanced around once more before he started.

"It all began in a land called the Enchanted Forest," he murmured, already seeing just how entranced the girl was with his story. He paused, unsure of how much detail he should go into with Iris being so young. Shrugging off his worry, he decided to just go ahead and tell everything that he knew. "Papa and I used to live in a land of magic together called the Enchanted Forest. All of the fairy tales that you've been read are actually based off the things that happened in the Enchanted Forest. All of the fairies and creatures and witches and princesses and magic were there in the Enchanted Forest. Papa and I weren't good at magic at all like witches and fairies were, but we knew about it and knew that a lot of powerful people could use it. Papa was a weak man back then and a lot of people made fun of him for being weak, so Papa decided to go and become stronger by becoming the Dark One."

"What's a Dark One?" Iris asked, eyes wide with curiosity that Neil smiled at.

"The Dark One was an all powerful being that Papa managed to defeat and take the powers of, so he is the Dark One now," Neil explained as simply as he could so the six year old would understand. "But the Dark One's power is like a curse that can't be broken."

"True Love's kiss," Iris said eagerly. "All curses can be broken by True Love's kiss!"

"And how do you know something like that?" Neil chuckled, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Auntie Ruby told me," Iris admitted happily. "Big bwother, if Mama and Papa kiss will Papa not be cursed?"

"I don't know Iris," Neil shrugged as he looked to the sky. "I don't know if Papa even realizes how much he loves Mom and True Love's kiss can be a little tricky to get right."

"Mama and Papa should kiss so Papa can be better again," Iris said as she stood.

"Where you going, kiddo?" Neil asked as she began to walk back to the shop.

"To tell Mama that she should give Papa a big kiss so he can get better!" Iris called as she began running towards the shop to find her mother.

******I'm terribly sorry for not posting last week and I'm ever the more sorry that I won't be posting for the rest of November. I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again this year and want all of my writing focused on that so that I can come to you all with a brand new novel published and ready for viewing. With that said, I will see all of you December 6th with a brand new chapter.**


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